Communication in the Workplace – Letters and Stuff

Is snail mail all that bad?  Surely with a name like that there can’t be any real advantages to it anymore?

If I had my way, it would be gone.  Obviously it can’t be completely; packages aren’t sent electronically (yet?).  But do we need hard copies anymore?  I understand that legally the answer is yes.  But laws can get changed.  Let’s put our faith in technology and wipe out letters.

Woah!  Did I really say that?

Yes.

Let’s look at the advantages of mail over it’s usual rival, electronic mail.

• Speed – Hmmmm none.  Email wins.
• Cost – Email again.
• Availability – More and more towards email.
• What – Well hold your horses, here is one where the mail wins.
• Security – Well I think it’s easier to open someone else’s letter box than open their email.

The length of this post speaks volumes about what I think about postal mail.  But do you think any different?